


Visit on a Quiet Night

by Sehin



Series: November 2020 One-Shots [27]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aang's birthday, Canon Compliant, Disproving a fan theory, During Book 3: Fire, Gyatso approves, Not Beta Read, Of the hair and of Katara, Other, Pre-Relationship, Survivor Guilt, When Aang had hair, When was his birthday anyway?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:14:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27738235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sehin/pseuds/Sehin
Summary: Nights in the Fire Nation were similar enough to that of the Earth Kingdom that Aang wondered if he'd actually ever left there. The moon was glowing softly with the occasional clouds covering it. The young Avatar sat cross-legged, though was struggling to get the feel for meditation tonight. He was restless tonight, and he knew why.It was almost midnight and he would be turning thirteen.*   -    *    -    *    -    *Aang and Gyatso have a spiritual reunion on the night of Aang's birthday. Past guilt and misunderstandings bubble in the Avatar, but Gyatso is here to comfort him.Canon Compliant
Relationships: Aang & Gyatso (Avatar)
Series: November 2020 One-Shots [27]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1994803
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13





	Visit on a Quiet Night

Nights in the Fire Nation were similar enough to that of the Earth Kingdom that Aang wondered if he'd actually ever left there. The moon was glowing softly with the occasional clouds covering it. The young Avatar sat cross-legged, though was struggling to get the feel for meditation tonight. He was restless tonight, and he knew why.

It was almost midnight and he would be turning thirteen.

The others were asleep, with Sokka and Toph softly snoring while Momo was being cuddled by Katara and Appa gave an occasional yawn before returning to sleep. Aang, however, couldn't sleep despite the fact they had a fair bit of travel to do tomorrow. The last time he'd celebrated his birthday a hundred and one years ago, it was revealed he was the Avatar and that changed his life forever. Only a few months later, he ran away because of the pressure, only to end up waking up a century later and finding everything he knew was gone.

It's one of the reasons he didn't want to tell the others about his birthday. Aang's happiness towards it, even by Air Nomad standards, had stopped and the young Avatar doubted he'd ever get it back. But still, he couldn't help but feel he should be happy. But it didn't make a difference.

"Oh my dear Aang," a familiar voice came from beside him. "Just because you had one bad birthday doesn't mean the next ones are going to be worse."

Aang turned and was surprised to see Gyatso sitting beside him in the same pose, and though his eyes were closed, he was smirking beneath his white floppy mustache. He looked the same as he did a hundred years ago, which saddened the boy as it just brought up the guilt of running away from the Southern Air Temple. But it didn't stop him from hugging his former guardian, his internal connection to the spirit world allowing it be a physical one. Tears formed in his eyes.

"Don't cry, Aang," Gyatso said, placing a hand on the boy's head. "I understand why you ran away a hundred years ago. You were scared about being something you didn't want to be," he then allowed Aang to look at him with tearful eyes. "And I did everything I could to protect you, right to the end."

"You still died," Aang replied, remembering his guardian's skeletal remains in the Southern Air Temple months ago. "And I wasn't there."

The monk smiled. "There was nothing you could've done, Aang. Fire Lord Sozin just reached us and defeated us. But I gave them a good thrashing."

Aang then remembered the armour around Gyatso's body. "I guess I shouldn't know how that happened."

Gyatso looked away. "Only a vengeful spirit that was unleashed in the sanctuary after finding my body. I fought to protect myself but even I couldn't claim a life," the monk turned back and took a look at the boy's head. "The hair suits you."

Aang remembered that his head wasn't shaved at the moment. "I grew it out when I was unconscious and never got round to shaving it. It's a good disguise while travelling through the Fire Nation though."

Gyatso smiled again. "You should consider keeping it. I never liked shaving my head and often wondered why we bothered even after getting the Air Master tattoos. It's another reason the elders didn't like me."

The boy chuckled. "I thought it was because of our funny pranks?"

"Well that too," the old man chuckled. "The Air Nomads live on in you, Aang, not just the Avatar. But it doesn't mean you have to continue our traditions. You can live how you want, even when this terrible war ends."

Aang looked away. "I have so much responsibility," he said. "But I can't run away again. Otherwise things will get worse."

"I know," Gyatso replied. "But you aren't alone," he turned to the Avatar's sleeping companions. "Watching from the Spirit World, I can see they are your true compatriots. Particularly your Waterbending Master."

Aang blushed. "Yeah."

"Don't hesitate to love, Aang," Gyatso replied. "Don't hesitate to have a family when it comes to you," the old man smiled. "Here I am, gone a hundred years and still giving advice to you."

"It's okay," the Avatar replied. "I've missed your advice. I wish you were here now."

The old man chuckled again. "Then consider it a birthday present, Aang," he said, stroking his mustache. "And next year, enjoy it with your friends."

"I will," Aang looked at the moon. "Can we stay like this for now?" he asked.

"You are at balance now, Aang," Gyatso replied. "But let us meditate together."

Aang couldn't help but nod.

Early next morning, as the sun rose, Katara found Aang sleeping peacefully on the grass. She looked down and heard a small mumble.

"Gyatso, see you next year."

The young waterbender smiled, remembering everything about the Avatar's former guardian. The man was the closest thing the boy had to a father and he always felt guilty about running away.

_Something must've happened last night for him to feel at peace,_ Katara thought.

A small wind swept by and for a moment, Katara swore she saw a bald man in old Air Nomad robes and a bushy white mustache, smiling at her. She returned the smile and bowed respectfully, looking up to find him gone. She then sat next to Aang and placed a hand on his shoulder for a moment. As the sun continued to rise, she simply sat there next to him, waiting for when the others awoke and got ready to leave.

But there was no hurry and Katara knew Aang needed it.

**Author's Note:**

> Oh how I missed Avatar: The Last Airbender. I need to sit down and watch it again soon. It's on the list.
> 
> And I'm not a hundred percent sure when Aang's birthday is. It might have been in the Autumn but what if it was during the summer, prior to Sozin's Comet in Book 3: Fire. So it means Sozin's Comet didn't come round the first time until Aang was actually supposed to turn 13. But since he was frozen he missed it more or less. If someone else actually has the boy's birthday, I might have missed it. Oh well.
> 
> And yes, I think Gyatso is totally in the spirit world, being taken there by the being that killed those Fire Nation soldiers. He came when he needed to but Aang's connection is weakened because of what happened in Ba Sing Se. That might change after he fully heals. And yes, I think he'd approve of the hair. I miss it. It was good hair.
> 
> Anyway, reviews and kudos please :) I want to hear what you think.


End file.
